Okay, I may need to be disabused of the outcome of an intuitive leap I made yesterday.
See, it’s always been my impression that a “sprout” is the immature form of a plant (after it’s developed past the point where it would be proper to refer to it as a “seed,” that is, after it has germinated). And that, left in an environment conducive to plant formation, a sprout would eventually become a fully-fledged* plant
What to Brussels sprouts grow into? I asked my daughter yesterday in Costco, when we passed a display of Brussels sprouts, and her speculation was that they grow into Belgian waffles, but I think she was just trying to be funny.
TIA for any responses.
*metaphorically speaking, of course. I do understand that plants don’t generally have feathers, duhhr.
Brussels sprouts, you might note, somewhat resemble miniature cabbages, and I believe are are in fact related. They grow on the sides of larger stalks, and are basically the new growth buds that will (I think) grow into larger balls of leaves that resemble cabbages. They are not newly sprouted seedlings.
The cabbage Brassica oleracea has a very large number of distinct cultivars. Cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, kale, collard greens, cauliflower, and kohlrabi all belong to the same botanical species.
They’re just buds, probably the same general anatomy as the terminal bud on the top of the stalk - on a modern cultivar, they’re probably too densely spaced to develop properly, but if left completely alone to develop beyond normal harvesting time, I would expect sprouts to ‘blow’ open and produce a little panicle of flowers.
To me as well. I mean, I knew they were all the same species, but I love collards and cabbage and Brussels sprouts and don’t care much for broccoli and cauliflower. Weird.
A pleaseant surprise that I had with my brussels sprouts once was I had grown too many. It was time to rotate my crops so I just pulled the remaining ones up and tossed them up against a wooden fence where the weeds were a bit overgrown. The spot I tossed them was cool, damp and breezy with plenty of fresh air. 2 months later I looked at them and they were still as fresh as ever on the stalks. I coudn’t believe it. They were just as tasty as the fresh picked sprouts.
It is said that a hard frost before picking really improves the flavor, I live in So Cal with no frost and they seemed fine but are possibly better in a colder climate. I plant mine sept through about april here but they would proably do allright with our mostly cool summers on the coast.
That’s kind of interesting, as to me they all have a common pungent “Brassica” flavor, for lack of better descriptor. (Which I love. But my wife is similar to you, only inverted: she lives broccoli and cauliflower, but is at best indifferent to cabbage, collards, and Brussels sprouts.)
